Embodiments of the disclosed technology relate to a pixel structure, a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel and a manufacturing method of an LCD panel.
The thin film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs) currently widely applied are mostly of a full-transmissive type. The full-transmissive type LCDs have a poor contrast when used outdoor for example in the sunshine, resulting in bad panel readability. To overcome this defect, a transflective LCD has been proposed. The transflective LCD improves the contrast of the outdoor LCD by increasing the reflectivity of the panel so that the panel may keep a good outdoor readability.
As shown in FIG. 1, a pixel structure (that is, the structure of a pixel) on an base substrate 001 of a conventional transflective LCD comprises: a gate electrode 11 of a thin film transistor (TFT), a gate insulating layer 12, an active layer 13, source/drain electrodes 14/15 of the TFT, a passivation layer 16, an organic layer 17, a pixel electrode 18 and a reflection layer 19. Such a pixel structure may be divided into three regions, i.e., a TFT region, a reflective region, and a transmissive region. A manufacturing method for the pixel structure shown in FIG. 1 may comprise the following steps.
Step 1 of preparing a gate metal film on a base substrate, and forming the gate electrode 11 and a gate line through a photolithography process using a mask;
Step 2 of preparing a silicon nitride film on the array substrate after step 1 to form the gate insulating layer 12 and preparing a semiconductor film to form the active layer 13 through a photolithography process using a mask;
Step 3 of preparing a source/drain metal film on the array substrate after step 2, and forming a date line and the source electrode 14 and the drain electrode 15 of the TFT through a photolithography process using a mask;
Step 4 of preparing a silicon nitride film on the array substrate after step 3, and forming the passivation layer 16 by forming a via hole in the silicon nitride film through a photolithography process using a mask;
Step 5 of preparing an organic film on the array substrate after step 4, and forming the organic layer 17 through a photolithography process using a gray tone mask;
Step 6 of preparing a pixel electrode film on the array substrate after step 5, and forming the pixel electrode 18 through a photolithography process using a mask; and
Step 7 of preparing a reflective metal film on the array substrate after step 6, and forming the reflection layer 19 through a photolithography process using a mask.
It can be seen from the above manufacturing process that seven photolithography processes are adopted in the conventional manufacturing method for the pixel structure shown in FIG. 1, which results in a complex process.